


Roll of Disillusion

by GayMothman (GhostQueen)



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Anodite!Ben, Alternate Universe - Gwen 10, Dimension Travel, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Multi, Not Beta Read, Xenophobia, boys being dumb, kinda slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-04-27 16:53:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14430018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostQueen/pseuds/GayMothman
Summary: Set in the Gwen 10 universe where Gwen got the omnitrix and Ben has anodite powers, this story follows Ben as he navigates his life as an alien.(Rated for a later chapter)





	1. What Are Little Boys Made of?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, no one had written the exact fic I wanted to read, so I wrote it myself. I'm still working on it but expect updates in the near future.
> 
> This chapter is basically an episode rewrite, but I promise that, after this, the story branches off into its own plot. 
> 
> (also, yes, the title is a green day lyric)

On his way back to the car from the restroom, Ben heard the sounds of fighting and rushed to where they were. Upon seeing a woman in a dark cloak about to attack Gwen and Kevin, he immediately placed a forcefield around them, stopping the attack, “I can’t leave you guys alone for 5 minutes, can I?”

The woman, looked shocked, “Do that again.”

Ben glared, “No problem,” and he let loose a flurry of targeted strikes, which were blocked by the woman with ease.

She continued to stare, stunned, “Incredible…”

Having lost any patience he had with this woman, he put his hand down and got straight to the point, “Just who do you think you are littering my grandfather’s cove with your flowers?”

Kevin walked up and stopped right behind Ben, connecting the dots, “Flowers that she makes out of energy…”

Ben’s eyes widened as he also made the connection. His posture immediately stopped being hostile as he was dumbfounded by the turn of events.

The woman walked up slowly to him, “Did you say Max Tennyson is your grandfather?”

Her eyes seemed… hopeful? Ben hesitantly nodded.

Her demeanor changed entirely as she lit up like a Christmas tree and hugged him, “Kiddo!”

After she let go, Gwen chimed in, “Um, he was my grandpa too…”

The woman turned to her, vaguely interested, “Oh? Can you project energy like your brother?”

“Cousin,” she corrected, “And no,” she sounded almost disappointed.

Any sense of interest immediately dropped from the woman’s eyes before she gave Ben her full attention, grabbing his hands, “Benjamin, I’m Verdona. We’ll talk again soon,” The woman, Verdona, then promptly vanished in a flash of light.

Ben and Gwen locked eyes and knew they were sharing the same thought. They had just met their grandmother.

Later that night, when Ben had finally returned home, he gathered up the courage to talk to his father. He knocked on the door to the study while opening, alerting his father of his presence, “Hey, Dad, I think we need to talk.”

His dad didn’t even look up from his work, “Can this wait a bit, Ben? I’m pretty busy at the moment.”

Ben sighed, knowing that would be the response, “I met grandma Verdona today.”

Now, his dad was paying attention even if he didn’t look up from his work, “Uh huh? I wonder why she didn’t tell me she was in town,” He was obviously trying to keep this casual as he continued his fake interest in the textbook he would be using for a future lecture.

“Dad…” Ben illuminated the book in a soft pink light and closed it, “Now, will you listen to me?” he asked, not leaving room for argument.

Sighing, his dad turned around in his office chair and locked eyes with Ben, giving him his whole attention, “How long has this been happening?”

Ben grimaced and didn’t meet his father’s eyes, “Since the road trip with grandpa Max when I was 10. I’ve been practicing and using magic since then. I guess it runs in the family.”

“Magic?” his dad’s eyes scrunched in confusion, “Ben… what you just did wasn’t magic.”

Blinking with confusion, Ben looked back at his dad, “What do you mean? I’ve had spell books and charms under my bed for years and they’ve been working for me thus far.”

His dad shook his head, “No, that’s not what I’m saying. While you may be practicing magic, that’s all you, kiddo. It doesn’t run in the family. Your grandma, Verdona, is an alien. An anodite to be specific,” he shrugged, “So, what I’m saying is, that the general glow-y thing you’re doing is the result of you being part-anodite and that just aids you in using magic.”

Ben’s eyes widened, “Woah. That, I didn’t expect.” He shook his head and got over the temporary shock before looking at the window, “I know you guys are out there. You might as well come in.”

Gwen climbed in the window first and waved at his dad, “Hi, Uncle Carl!”

Kevin hesitantly climbed in after her and also waved, “Hello, sir, I’m Kevin Levin.”

Ben’s dad smirked at Kevin, then looked at his son, “Is he your boyfriend?”

Kevin and Ben spoke in unison, “What?! No! We’re definitely not dating!” before looking at each other and looking away.

His dad raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more on the topic. Instead he rolled his eye, “Well, anyway, Ben, your friend and Gwen aren’t the only ones who know how to eavesdrop on a conversation. Come on out, mom!”

Verdona suddenly appeared in the room, “Oh, Carl, you were always good at knowing when I’m here. So good that I held hope that you were just a late bloomer for your spark, but no dice. Anyway, I’ve just come to chat with my favorite grandchild about his heritage. How about we all chat downstairs?” Without waiting for a reply, she simply teleported everyone downstairs to the living room, startling Ben’s mom, causing her to accidentally knock a snow globe off of the bookshelf she was dusting, shattering it.

Verdona immediately fixes it with what looks like no effort at all and addresses his mom, “Sandra, be a dear and bring me some tea and something sweet for the kids.”

Ben’s mom looked slightly annoyed but retreated to the kitchen nonetheless. Everyone sat down and after a few minutes, she returned, handing Verdona her cup of tea and placing a tray of cookies in front of Kevin and Gwen before taking a seat by Carl.

After she took a sip of her tea, Verdona addressed Ben, “So, as your father told you, I am an anodite, which makes you an anodite as well.”

He nodded, knowing that much, “Yes, but what is an anodite?”  
  
She smiled, “Anodites are a race of free spirits from the planet Anodyne. Now, we don’t often mess in the affairs of plain folks, but I fell deeply in love with Max Tennyson.”

“Yeah, and then you ditched him,” Kevin muttered under his breath before Gwen hit him.

Verdona didn’t seem vexed by the question, “No. It’s just after the kids were grown and out of the house, I needed to reconnect with my anodite heritage and Max was busy saving the universe with the Plumbers.”

Carl’s eyes shot up, “Dad thought you didn’t know about that.”

She smiled in remembrance, “Yes. He didn’t want me to worry. Sweet man. We had many good years, but we grew apart. Even a man, filled with as much mana as Max was still just a physical being.”

Gwen spoke up, “Wait, what’s mana?”

Instead of offering an answer, Verdona just fabricated a strip of duct tape to fit over her mouth, which seemed to obviously annoy her.

Verdona continued her story, “News of Max’s fate even reached me on Anodyne, so I came back to Earth to remember the good times,” She turned back to Ben, pride gracing her features, “Who knew there was a budding anodite among you? Benjamin, you’ll be amazed at what you can do,” she stood up, setting down her tea, “Let me teach you how to master life energy,” she turned back to Gwen, a slightly sinister smile on her face, “That’s what mana is,” She removed the duct tape with a glance.

Off-put by this, Gwen only responded with a small, “Oh.”

Ben didn’t pay that that any mind as he stood up, intrigued, “I do want to learn. Where do we start?”

Grabbing his hands, Verdona responded, excited, “Anodyne, of course. Stop living this dull life. Come home with me and join the real party.”  
  
He pulled his hands from her grasp, “Leave? This is all so… wow. This is too huge,” He turned towards his parents, “Mom, Dad, what do I do?”

Carl, looked bewildered, “I-I don’t know. It’s an opportunity I never had.”

On the other hand, Sandra had a bittersweet smile on her face, “I had always hoped you would take after my side of the family, but if this is what you want, we won’t stand in your way, Ben.”

Still feeling conflicted, Ben asked, “You won’t?”

Ecstatic, Verdona responded from behind him, “Then it’s settled! Come on, sweetie.”

Still unsure, he locked eyes with everyone in the room, before addressing her, “I need a minute to think about this. It’s a really big change from everything I’ve ever known,” without waiting for her response, he left the room, and headed to the roof to think it over.

He sat, staring at the stars above him, as if they would provide him with a comprehensive answer.

Suddenly a voice rang out from beside him, “You would come up here, knowing that we can’t fly,” Kevin then sat down to his left.

“Kevin,” Gwen hissed out from his right, “be supportive.”

Not looking at either of them, Ben focused on a tile on the roof, “This is totally not how I expected today to go.”

She laid a hand on his shoulder, “Still, it’s pretty cool to find out about your powers, right? Grandma could teach you do all the things she can do.”

Ben swallowed, “I’d be gone for a long time,” he paused, “Maybe even forever,” he looked up at the stars again, “I’ve always been an outsider. I’m this geek that no one wants to hang out with. I thought it was just high school socialization and cliques getting to me,” he looked back down, “Turns out I’m an even bigger outsider than I thought.”

Gwen removed her hand from his shoulder, “We’ll miss you if you go.”

He looked up and smiled at her, “Really?”  
  
She backtracked, “I mean, we’ve been recruiting more and more Plumbers’ kids, so we’d still have a pretty powerful team.”

His smiled dropped, “Oh,” and he looked back at the roof.

“When I was deciding whether or not to put on the omnitrix again, you told me it was my choice,” she put her hand back on his shoulder and stood up, “It’s just some pretty good advice. That’s all I’m saying,” she then proceeded to leave the roof.

Turning to Kevin, who had been pretty quiet though the whole exchange, “Is that what you think too?”

Kevin shrugged, “Look, man, none of us will be happy if you do this, but it is ultimately your choice and we would be terrible teammates if we didn’t support your decision.”

Ben smiled at him, “Thanks, Kevin,” He stood up and left the rooftop.

When he got back downstairs, he walked up to grandma Verdona, who was listening to disco for some reason, “Thank you so much for the offer, I would love to go to Anodyne with you,” Verdona was about to respond before Ben cut her off, “However,” he paused, “I don’t want to be away for too long. I’m willing to be away for five years right now, but I want return here for Earth summers and be able to return if they ever need my help. I’m so interested in what being an anodite can offer me, but I also don’t want to lose touch with my humanity.”

She contemplated this for a few moments before breaking out into a smile, “You drive a hard bargain, kiddo, but you got yourself a deal. We’ll leave tomorrow afternoon, so you can say goodbye to your friends and pack a bag. You won’t need much, just your spell books and whatever personal items you want to bring,” She hugged him before teleporting out of the room for the night.

Ben walked up to his parents and immediately enveloped them in a hug, “Thank you, mom and dad. I love you. I hope you know that.”

Squeezing back, his dad smiled, “Yeah, we know. Now go hang out with your friends while you still have the chance.”

Letting go, he smiled back at his parents and nodded, heading back upstairs to tell Kevin and Gwen.

He found them climbing in through his bedroom window, “Hey, guys.”

Gwen seemed to have noticed what he was about to say, “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

Offering a bittersweet smile, he nodded, “I am. I leave tomorrow. Don’t worry. It won’t be forever. I’ll be gone 5 years, but I’ll come back every summer. I’ll also be on call if you ever need my help.”

Visibly disheartened, Kevin started towards the door, “Well, we should let you pack.”

“No!” Kevin looked at Ben, sightly startled, “I mean. Don’t go. Not yet. This is my last night on Earth for a while. We should do something! Or maybe just pop in a movie and watch that,” He locked eyes with both of them, “I don’t care what we do. I just don’t want to spend my last night on Earth alone.”

Without speaking, Kevin retreated from the door and took a seat on Ben’s bed, Gwen following after him.

He looked at Ben expectantly, “Well? What are we watching?”  
  
With a relieved smile, Ben picked up the nearest DVD, Sumo Slammers: The Movie, and put it in the DVR before settling on the bed, in between Kevin and Gwen. It was a nice way to end this chapter of his life before starting another one on a completely different planet. 


	2. Won't be Back for Eons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben returns to Earth, or at least the Plumber station by Earth, in response to distress call sent by Kevin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so technically Grandpa Max was "dead" for the last chapter, but with the time skip here, let's just say someone, at some point, told Ben what was up with Max. I wanted to write it in, but I felt that there wasn't really a place to casually add that in.
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

 

Over the past five years, Ben did his best to uphold his promises, but time passed differently on Anodyne, so he accidentally missed two summers in a row. On the third year, he had made a conversion chart for time, so he wouldn't miss it again. A few anodites called him the Anodynian word for a ‘nerd’, when he did that. Even on Anodyne, he was still a bit of an outsider, but it was nowhere near the torment of high school, so he didn’t really mind that much.

 

He made it back for the third summer, but Gwen was so busy with her summer college courses and trying to balance that with being a hero that he didn’t really see her much, they hung out a couple times, but the timing just wasn’t right for a visit. He tried calling Kevin, but he never called back. He ended up going back to Anodyne early. 

 

Ben couldn’t help but feel like this was somehow his fault. If he had made the conversion calendar a couple years earlier, maybe things would have been different. Maybe he wouldn’t have accidentally pushed everyone away.

 

He tried coming back next summer anyway, but was met with the same result. 

 

He ended up staying on Anodyne a bit longer than anticipated. He figured since his friends didn’t miss him that much, he would just stay for a bit longer. A bit turned into 5 more years. Whether it was Anodyne years or Earth years, he didn’t know. He stopped caring at some point.

 

He would have stayed longer if not for a sudden call on an almost forgotten Plumber’s badge. 

 

He was studying a new spell book that Grandma Verdona had gotten him for his birthday when he saw a green flash in the corner of the room. 

 

He floated towards the light. He pulled it out of a dusty duffle bag that hasn’t been touched in years.

 

“Ben?” It was Kevin, surprisingly enough, “Ben… If you can hear this… We need your help. Gwen is in serious danger and we can’t track the omnitrix. We think whoever took her left this dimension,” there was a pause, “Why did I even think this would work? Ben’s been AWOL for so many years now. Who knows if he even still has the plumber’s badge. This was a dumb idea.”

 

Ben quickly activated his badge, “Kevin, I’ll be right there.”

 

It took him a moment to track down Kevin’s aura, as it had been many years since he’d seen him. Upon finding his location, Ben opened a portal and telepathically told Verdona that he was needed on a Plumber mission. 

 

Before stepping through the portal, he figured he’d better conjure up a skin suit as to blend in a bit better. He closed his eyes and instantly created a replica of what his ideal human body would look like at 25 but kept the same outfit he wore at 15. Fabricating a mirror, he admired his handy work. He look almost the same as he was at 15 except for the fact he was taller. The experience was surreal, considering that he had almost forgotten what he looked like as a human. 

 

He teleported his books and plumbers badge into the same bag he’d forgotten about. He transformed the larger bag into a smaller, more portable, backpack. 

 

Taking a deep breath, he walked through the portal. 

 

He was greeted with an older Kevin Levin in obvious distress over Gwen, but he also looked somewhat surprised at seeing Ben. Ben figured there was no time for formalities and jumped straight to the point, “Who/What took Gwen?”

 

Kevin shook the surprise off his face, “We think it’s another evil version of you from another dimension, because he knew how to shut down the omnitrix.”

 

Ben blinked, “Another? How many evil versions of me are there?” he quickly paused, “Actually, that doesn’t matter. He shut down the omnitrix, because he figured that we didn’t know how to track her without it, but he probably didn’t count on alternative ways of tracking her,” he looked around the room, for the first time noticing that they were on a plumber base, “Do you have something of her’s? I mean I can track her without it, but cross dimensional tracking without a hint of mana to track could take a long time. Time we don’t have.”

 

Pulling something out of his pocket, Kevin nodded, “I figured. Here,” he handed over Gwen’s signature blue jacket. 

 

Instead of taking it with his hands, Ben levitated the jacket and focused his energy onto the jacket, trying to pin point exactly where she was.

 

After a few minutes, he let the jacket fall into his hands and handed it back to Kevin, “She’s in dimension 15. If you’ll gather everyone that’s on this mission, I’ll open a portal near where she’s being held.”

 

Kevin nodded in affirmation and spoke into his badge, calling in the plumbers. Afterwards he paused before look back at Ben, “Thank you for doing this, Ben. You didn’t have to come all this way for something like this. We could have figured it out.”

 

Shrugging, Ben replied, “I was serious when I said I would come back anytime you needed me. Speaking of which, what are we up against.”

 

Kevin blinked, “We? You’re coming with us?”

 

Ben squinted his eyes, “Yeah, we. There’s no way I’m missing out on this. So? What are we up against?”

 

Nodding again, Kevin was suddenly all business, “He calls himself Eon. We’ve dealt with him before, but not on this scale. Ben Prime has always been his target, he’s never directly come after Gwen before,” he paused, looking over Ben again, “Speaking of which, is there a way not to look like you when we confront him, because then he’ll target you,” Ben motioned for him to explain more, “Eon is an evil version of you who has set out to capture and enslave all other versions of himself. He mainly targets Ben Prime. Ben Prime is the Ben Tennyson from the main timeline. We live in a timeline where Gwen discovered the omnitrix instead of you and you ended up with anodite powers instead of her.”

 

A little taken back, Ben blinked, “Okay, wow. We’re a side timeline? That’s kinda cool honestly,” then he got back on topic, “But yeah, I can go full anodite. It’s hard to recognize me as me like that,” he then pulled his skin suit off like a costume and it fell to the floor, leaving behind a purple and pink humanoid form. Snapping his fingers, the suit was gone.

 

Kevin seemed a little disturbed by him just peeling off his skin, but didn’t say anything about it, “Okay, so you should know that Eon is weakened by frequent use of his cross-dimensional powers and can speed up the aging process of anything at will, but it weakens and ages himself by doing this. The best strategy is to avoid him and tire him out.”

 

As the plumbers entered the room, Ben opened a portal to dimension 15. 

 

After greeting the group, Kevin filled them in on the plan. Quietly breach the location. Find Gwen. Get out. Wait for Eon to retaliate. Only fight Eon, if necessary. 

 

Everyone was well aware of the fact that this most likely a trap, but with Gwen in danger, they didn’t really have any other option than to take the fight to Eon.

 

About six plumbers, Kevin, and then Ben walked through the portal and found themselves standing in front of an inconspicuous warehouse. They decided to attack from 4 sides and split off into groups of 2. Ben went with Kevin and took the front entrance. Kevin spoke in a hushed tone into the badge, counting up to three, so everybody could enter at the same time.

 

Entering the building, they found an empty space with Gwen tethered to a circular device that restrained her wrists and ankles. Upon seeing them, Gwen yelled in a panic, “Guys, no! This is a trap!”

 

Running up to where she was being held, he focused on undoing the restraints, “We know. We don’t care. You were in trouble.”

 

A laugh sounded from behind them, “Were? Oh, Levin, I guess you’re right. She's not really in trouble anymore, because she lured what I was after all along. Him!” Eon pointed at Ben.

 

Ben looked behind him to see if Eon was talking about someone else, but didn't see anyone else that Eon could have been pointing at, “Me?” He asked, pointing to himself.

 

Eon rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion, “Yes, you, you moron. Don’t you see? All of this was set up to lure you, the missing piece I needed. The most powerful Ben Tennyson of all the timelines. You see, most of the other Ben Tennysons have the omnitrix, but that's just a watch. You don't need hardware to be powerful, which will make you an excellent addition to my collection.” 

 

“Well, uh,” Ben didn't really know how to go about this, “Thanks? But I’m not interested. Just let Gwen go and we can go our separate ways.”

 

Scoffing, Eon looked annoyed, “Pity. I wasn't looking for your approval,” he then proceeded to target Ben with a hyper-aging strike.

 

Blocking it with an energy shield, Ben smirked, “Oh, you want me? Well,” he opened a portal to dimension 14, “Come and get me then,” and jumped through the portal, closing it.

 

In dimension 14, another portal opened and Eon jumped out of it.

 

This cycle continued on through a series of different dimensions and while Ben was starting to feel a bit drained, it was no match to how Eon looked at the moment. The man was visibly weakened and looked like he wouldn’t do well with another dimension jump. 

 

On the Earth of dimension 42, Ben walked up to where Eon was kneeling and forcibly picked him up, pink orbs incasing Eon’s hands and feet. As he was panting, Ben grabbed his chin and looked him dead in the eye, “This is your first and final warning. You leave my universe alone or you will reap the consequences. You see how weak you are now? I’m not even breaking a sweat. I could do this all day,” he really couldn't, but it made the threat more convincing, “And I’m not even trying. You have no idea who you are dealing with. I will tear you to shreds and suck you dry of any mana you may have left. Go back to were you came from. Don't make me tell you again,” he unceremoniously dropped Eon to the floor and opened a portal back to dimension 15 and began to step through it before stopping and looking back, “So long, Eon,” He left dimension 42. 

 

Ben entered back into dimension 15 and wiped his hands like they had dust on them for dramatic effect and saw the plumbers, Kevin, and Gwen staring at him, “Yeah, Eon hopefully won’t be a problem anymore. If he is, let me know and I’ll straighten him out.”

 

Gwen, who was recently freed, ran up and hugged him, “I’ve missed you, doofus .”

 

Although surprised, Ben hugged her back with just as much enthusiasm, “You too, dweeb.”

 

After they let go, Kevin walked up, “What did you do?”

 

“Not much honestly,” Ben shrugged, “I just dimension hopped until he got tired and then threatened him,” looking at everyone, “Sorry to steal the spotlight on your mission. I promise I didn’t intend to.”

 

One plumber, Keronia, shook her head, “You had no idea that this was a trap to lure you and you just dealt with it accordingly. No harm done.”

 

Ben nodded, “Okay, now who wants to go home?” he raised his hand and everyone followed suit. He opened another portal for everyone to enter. After this, he would really need to take a break and recharge. This was way too much portal jumping for one day.

 

Back at the plumber’s base near the Earth of dimension 12, they were greeted by Grandpa Max.

 

“Gwen! I’m glad they got you back okay," He set a hand on her shoulder, before removing it to greet the Plumber agents, "Good job, you guys are dismissed,” as the plumbers left, he looked at Ben and smiled wide, “Well, would you look at that? Benjamin Tennyson as I live and breath. How are you, kiddo?”

 

After quickly putting on his skin suit, same as the one from before, with a snap of his fingers, he approached his grandfather, giving him a hug, “I’ve been good. I’ve missed Earth and everyone here. I guess I didn’t fully realize it until I came back after all this time. I guess I just stopped coming back, because I thought you guys were sick of me.”

 

Gwen shook her head, “No! We thought you were sick of us! You said you’d visit every summer and then forgot two years in a row. We figured it would be best to just leave you be.”

 

“Yeah. I figured. I know it's my fault that I accidentally pushed you guys away. I just left indefinitely, because after that, I just thought it would be better if I stayed away,” Ben looked down, suddenly guilty.

 

Gwen slapped the back of his head, “Uh. No! We’re not sick of you. We love and miss you. Stop thinking like that and visit us more.”

 

Ben was a little stunned and blinked before shaking his head and offering another idea, “Actually, instead of visiting, I think I would like to stay on Earth for a while and help you,” he rubbed the back of his neck, a bit sheepish, “That is, if you’ll let me.”

 

Grandpa Max slapped Ben on the back, “Of course we will. You, no doubt, still remember the protocols and regulations for being a Plumber. You always did love reading up on our textbooks. We’d be thrilled to have you.”

 

Instead of slapping him again, Gwen hugged him, “I’m glad you’re back for good. You could really help us out down here.”

 

“Yeah, me too,” he said, hugging her back, “Sure, studying and practicing spells and my powers is fun, but there's nothing like using it in action. I’ve missed that almost as much as I’ve missed you.”

 

“This is great,” Max said while hugging both of them at the same time before releasing them, “I’ll fill out some paperwork and have you assigned a partner by Monday. Spend the rest of the weekend catching up and I’ll see you then, kiddo,” He walked out of the room.

 

Releasing Ben, Gwen looked ecstatic, “What do you want to do first?” not even letting him reply, she continued, “Oh! Let’s go get a smoothie, you’ve probably missed those!”

 

Ben’s eyes lit up in the normal way, “Oh, you know me so well. I am dying for a nectarine smoothie,” he paused and looked at Kevin, “Did you fly here? If you did, we should take the ship back to Earth, because I don’t think I should create another portal today, I’m already pretty drained from doing that so much today.”

 

Kevin nodded, but he seemed a little stiff, “Yeah,” he walked up to Ben and slung an arm around his shoulder, but there was something off about it, “Let’s go,” he wrapped an arm around Gwen’s waist and they were on their way.

 

It was shaping up to be a pretty alright weekend after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, from here on out, I'm going to try posting once a week, but with graduation around the corner, work, and my court date for my speeding ticket (i know i'm dumb), it might not always happen.
> 
> But.
> 
> Guess who's making his debut next chapter? :)


	3. Blast from the Cash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben meets his new partner and they get smoothies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey, it's ya boi back with a new chapter. I probably won't post next week, because I am dying between work and finals. I have slept 4 hours over the past two nights. The only reason I'm posting this is because I already had it written, but I don't have the next one written. 
> 
> anyway, here's the bois

Ben sat in his old room at his parent’s house. He’d been sleeping there over the weekend and was amazed about how nothing, except the amount of dust, had changed. He couldn’t help but think about how different this room would look if he had decided not to go to Anodyne all those years ago. Being here, now, almost made him regret it. 

 

It was too late for second thoughts. 

 

He stood up from the bed, in his human form. He’d been in this form all weekend. It made things more normal for his parents and it made him feel like he fit in a bit more. 

 

Looking at the clock, he figured he should probably head out, since it was nearing 9AM, the time where he’d been told by Grandpa Max to meet him today in order to meet his partner. Truth be told, he didn’t even know his partner’s name yet and was excited to get to know them.

 

After refraining from heavy use his powers all weekend and steady amounts of meditation, Ben was recharged and ready to create a portal for the first time in days. Focusing his power, a pink portal sparked to life in the middle of the room. Having already told his folks goodbye for the day, Ben entered the portal to the Plumber base.

 

…and then immediately crashed into someone, sending them both tumbling to floor, Ben on top of whoever he fell on.

 

Ben found himself face to face, in very close proximity, with a male Revonnagander. They blinked at each other a few times in bewilderment before Ben scrambled to get off of the other, his face red.

 

Once he stood up, he offered his hand to the Revonnagander, “I’m so sorry about that. I had no idea my portal would open up right in the middle of a hallway.”

 

The stranger smiled, taking Ben’s hand and standing up before letting go of it, “It is quite alright. It was an accident, no? No need to apologize…” he seemed to be prompting Ben to give him his name.

 

Ben shook his head, “Right. I completely forgot to introduce myself, I’m Benjamin Tennyson. And you’re…?”

 

“Rook Blonko. Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Rook stuck out his hand to shake.

 

Grabbing it, Ben replied, “Likewise.”

 

After a moment, both men let go and Rook looked like his had just figured something out.

 

“Are you, by chance, related to Gwen Tennyson and Magister Max Tennyson?” He looked curious, but also like he didn’t want to intrude on his personal life.

 

Ben nodded, “Yeah. Gwen’s my cousin and Max is my grandfather. I’m actually here to see him now,” he thought for a second, “By the way, do you happen to know where Garage 3 is?” Ben could have as easily just tracked down Grandpa Max’s mana, but he felt like he needed an excuse to talk to this guy a bit longer.

 

It was Rook’s turn to nod, “I am actually heading there right now. I’ll show you.”

 

“Thank you. This place is like a maze,” Ben smiled at Rook in gratitude. 

 

They had already started walking but Rook still turned to Ben, his brow furrowed, “How is this like a maze? Isn’t a maze intended to be a puzzle? The Plumber base is just laid out in a practical way, meant to be clear, which is nothing like a maze.”

 

Ben laughed softly, “Sorry, it’s an Earth expression. I simply mean that since the Plumber base is so massive, it’s hard to memorize the layout.”

 

Rook’s eyes lit up in understanding, “Oh. Okay. Thank you for explaining that to me. I still struggle with English sayings.”

 

Shaking his head, Ben responded, “You’re welcome,” There was a pause in conversation before Ben spoke up again, “If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been a Plumber?”

 

Suddenly looking a bit sheepish, Rook looked away, “I just graduated from the academy, actually.”

 

Finding that kind of adorable, Ben smiled in reassurance, “Congratulations! You’ve had more formal training than I’ve had. I’ve apparently had enough field experience to qualify as a Plumber agent, but I still wish to eventually take some classes out of personal interest,” Rook returned back to a neutral state, but it still seemed like he had a question on his mind, “You want to ask a question,” he blinked, stunned, “Go ahead. I’ll see if I can answer it.”

 

Rook nodded, “How did you open that portal? I was under the impression that all the Tennysons were Terran,” he thought to himself for a second, “Or was it magic? Did you use a spell to open the portal?”

 

Tilting his head, Ben shrugged, “While I do use magic, I didn’t use a spell to open the portal,” he looked away from Rook, focusing on where he was going, “I used to be human. My grandmother’s an Anodite, and that was passed down to me, but it’s not a dominate genetic code, so I’m only one of two descendants that received the abilities. The portal making?” he looked back at Rook, “That’s just an Anodite ability. I mean, I could have just teleported, but I prefer making portals for some reason. I’m not quite sure why,” he chuckled slightly at his own expense.

 

“I see,” Rook stopped walking, “Well, we are here,” he held open the door, “After you.”

 

“Thank you,” he walked through the door, seeing Max waiting by a vehicle for him. 

 

Max waved at the both of them as they made their way over. As they got closer, he chuckled, “I was going to introduce you to each other, but it seems I’m too late.”

 

The two in question blinked in unison and looked at each other before looking back at Max.

 

Ben shook his head, “Wait, this is my new partner?”

 

Nodding, Max smiled at the both of them, “Indeed he is. I’m glad you two seem to be getting along already.”

 

“Well,” Ben turned towards Rook and offered him a friendly smile, “I look forward to working with you, partner,” he playfully emphasized the word ‘partner’.

 

Rook returned the smile, “As am I, partner.”

 

Getting their attention again, Max cleared his throat, “Well, guys, your first assignment will be regular patrol of Bellwood and Undertown. You will be notified if and when your assistance is needed elsewhere.”

 

“Undertown?” Ben tilted his head, confused.

 

“Oh, right,” Max shook his head, “How could I forget? You weren’t there when this happened. Undertown is a city for aliens that exists beneath Bellwood.”

 

This reminded Ben a lot of the sewer mutants from Futurama and that, in itself, was concerning, “Are they forced to live down there? Are they not allowed to become citizens, or even residents, above the surface?”

 

“Well,” Max started, “There was a point where Bellwood had been partially destroyed and an alien labor force was brought to Earth to help rebuild the city faster and while that was happening, a camp was set up beneath the surface and it just ended up growing into a city,” he paused, “Actually, ever since the Incursean Invasion, aliens and humans have been co-existing above the surface, but many still choose to live in Undertown.”

 

Ben wanted to ask another question but stopped himself, “I-Actually, is all this in a textbook or something that I can read? I’d hate to bother you with all these questions that I can research myself.”

 

Max nodded, “Of course. I’ll send you files of the most important events you’ve missed in the past seven years.”

 

“Seven years? Is that how long I was gone in Earth years? It was 10 years on Anodyne,” Ben thought for a second, “Hmm. That makes since, given the time conversions,” he got himself back on topic, “Well, thank you, I would appreciate that a lot.”

 

“You’re welcome, Ben, Now,” he moved closer to the vehicle, “This,” he patted the hood of what looked like a delivery truck, “is the vehicle you will be using on your patrols. Feel free to decide together which one of you is going to drive.”

 

Ben looked a Rook, a little sheepish, “I-uh I don’t know how to drive,” he scrambled to give an explanation, “I never really needed to learn? I can fly and teleport, so I didn’t see a point in learning, but I’d hate to just force the responsibility of driving onto you.”

 

Giving him a reassuring smile, Rook replied, “It is okay, Benjamin, I know how and I can teach you if you wish.” 

 

“That would be great, thank you,” Ben sighed in relief. 

 

“Well, guys,” Max removed his hand from the vehicle and walked closer to them, “I think I’ll let you guys go ahead and start your patrol,” he focused on Ben, “Can you transport the truck to Earth or do you want to borrow the teleporter?

 

Ben waved his hand dismissively, “Nah, I’m fine.”

 

“Then, I’ll let you guys get to it, have a good day. I’ll send you the files you need and the extra details surrounding your assignment,” Max began to make his way out of the garage.

 

Before he was completely gone, Ben called back, “Thanks, Grandpa Max!”

 

“No problem, kiddo!” Max proceeded to leave the room.

 

Ben turned to Rook, “Have you been to Earth before?”

 

After thinking for a second, Rook answered, “Once, to help during Incursean Invasion, but not since.”

 

“Oh,” Ben’s face displayed underlying excitement, “I think you’ll love it. Before we start patrol, we can grab a smoothie.”

 

Rook’s head tilted, “A… smoothie?”

 

Ben nodded, now obviously excited, “It’s basically fruit blended with fruit juice to create a beverage. I know a great place to get one. Do you want to try one?”

 

Smiling, Rook looked like he decided to humor Ben, “Okay. I am interested in trying one of your Earth drinks.”

 

Lighting up, Ben snapped his fingers and suddenly they were in the middle of the parking lot of a Mr. Smoothies with their truck neatly placed in one of the vacant parking spots. Surprisingly, none of the patrons noticed.

 

Rook looked around, startled, before shaking his head and focusing on Ben, “Next time, do you think you can inform me before suddenly teleporting us anywhere?”

 

Suddenly a bit embarrassed, Ben rubbed the back of his neck, “Sorry, about that. It’s a habit. I’ll try not to do it again.”

 

“I would appreciate that. Thank you,” Rook then took in where they were, “Is this the smoothie establishment you mentioned?”

 

“Yep! Let’s go order,” Grabbing Rook by the hand, he lead them to the line, already knowing what he was going to get.

 

Rook took a moment to look at the menu, despite nothing being familiar. He turned to Ben, “While I do not know what it is, a mango smoothie sounds intriguing.”

 

Ben looked pleased at this, “Okay! I’ll get the same, it’s been a while since I had a mango one,” he stepped forward in line as it progressed.

 

Before long, it was their turn. Stepping up, Ben ordered for the both of them and paid before being asked to wait for their names to be called. 

 

As they were waiting, they made their way to a table to sit down in the meantime. Almost to the table, a voice rang out from behind them.

 

“Well, if it isn’t Ben Tennyson.”

 

Ben’s posture went stiff. He knew that voice anywhere. He slowly turned around to meet the mocking faces of Cash and J.T..

 

J.T. laughed, “Long time, no see, Benji.”

 

Cash joined in, “Yeah, nice to see you’re still a loser,” He looked at Rook with judging eyes, “Who’s this? Your alien boyfriend?”

 

Rook started to answer before Ben gave him a look that said to stay out of this. 

 

Ben rolled his eyes at the both of them, “Wow. A gay joke? Really?” he scoffed, “Nothing’s changed. You’re both still the same sad homophobes you were when I left.”

 

Ignoring his remark, Cash focused on the last bit, “When you left? You mean when you dropped out as a sophomore?” 

 

“Just because I left, doesn’t mean I dropped out,” Ben sighed and shook his head, “Why am I even bothering with the two of you? You’re not worth the effort,” Ben turned back and started to continue his way to the table.

 

Cash grabbed his wrist, “Now, what makes you think we’re done with you?”

 

“Remove that hand or you’ll lose it,” Ben was done playing their games.

 

Cash held on tighter and forced Ben to face them, “Oh, you got threats now? I’d like to see you try something,” Cash was obviously taunting and egging Ben on. 

 

Ben sighed in fake pity, “I tried to warn you,” Ben enveloped Cash’s hand in a pink orb and plucked it off his arm, “Now,” he glared, his eyes glowing, “Get lost before you regret it.”

 

Cash and J.T. stared at him, a bit of fear in their eyes. 

 

J.T. swallowed, “What are you?”

 

Ben smirked, “Wouldn’t you like to know? Now, beat it.”

 

Glaring, Cash stepped back, “Fine. You win this time, Tennyson,” and, with that, the pair left.

 

After they were gone, a Mr. Smoothie employee hesitantly called their names, after seeing what just occurred.

 

Walking up the the counter, Ben proceeded to get their smoothies and thank the employee to which she smiled in return, wishing him a good day.

 

He held a smoothie out to Rook, who just seemed confused about what just happened, “Here, I’ll explain in the truck during our patrol.”

 

After getting in the truck, Rook started the engine and pulled out of the parking place and drove onto the street before asking, “Benjamin, why would you use your powers against a civilian? I understand they were antagonizing you, but they are still civilians.”

 

Taking sip of his smoothie, Ben rolled his eyes, “It’s not like I hurt them, but I knew that there was no chance of them not bothering me if a threat wasn’t imminent.”

 

Rook nodded, but still didn’t look happy about it, “What is your relation to them, anyway?”

 

“Oh, they harassed me in school and I guess they’ve still got nothing better to do,” Ben shrugged, surprisingly nonchalant. 

 

“I see,” Rook thought for a second, “You would not use your powers against an average civilian, right?”

 

Ben laughed, incredulous, “Of course not, Rook. I’m not like that. I just made an exception for those dweebs.”

 

Rook let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief, “Okay. I figured I would make sure. Just in case.”

 

After that, they drove for awhile in comfortable silence and soon they had gotten to some of the more gritty parts of town. They drove by an alleyway and caught glimpse of an alien drug deal. Pulling over, they put their smoothies back in the cupholders and looked at each other.

 

“Ready, partner?” Rook asked, a disposed smirk on his face.

 

“Ready, partner,” Ben answered with a matching smirk.

 

At the same time, they exited the truck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I don't really have a plan for the next chapter. I know I want to write Ben and Rook's first adventure together, but idk who to use as an antagonist yet. If y'all have any ideas, feel free to let me know.


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